We are doing this in English Lit. class, and while some people have said Shakespeare was racist cos of the way he portrayed Shylock, our teacher says he was the opposite. This is why Shylock makes his famous speech in act 3 -
But our teacher also told us to do an interesting experiment - change every use of the word Jew to Muslim, look at how it reads, and think about what that tells us in today's world. He said that we need to know that the Jews were treated terribly in Elizabethan England, and that Shylock's attitude was the result of years of being treated as a second class human being and abused - Shakespeare was clever enough to present us with that situation in a way that we can come to our own conclusions. He also said that we need to understand the long term consequences of actions by society - which is why we should change the word Jews to Muslims, and think about how modern day events came about.He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you $#@! us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.
Wasn't Shakespeare clever!